Latest news with #OnlyMurdersintheBuilding
an hour ago
- Entertainment
Book Review: 'Steve Martin Writes the Written Word' shows depth of comedian's talent
Whether you first knew him as one of the 'Two Wild and Crazy Guys' on Saturday Night Live or as one of the investigating podcasters on Hulu's 'Only Murders in the Building,' chances are you've seen Steve Martin's comedic talent in some form on screen. But what younger audiences may not appreciate is Martin's depth as a humor writer, with a canon of written work that stretches back just as many decades. 'Steve Martin Writes the Written Word' is an aptly-named collection and excellent introduction to the comedian's best writings, including some new material. The book showcases Martin's versatility as a writer, especially by including his debut 2000 novella 'Shopgirl." In that book, Martin uses a subdued sense of humor to describe heartbreak and loneliness his characters experience no matter their age. The book also includes previously published selections from his writing for The New Yorker's 'Shouts & Murmurs' column. It's fitting that Martin's best shorter works in this collection focus on writing and the written word, including a piece written from the perspective of words themselves. In another piece, he makes the list of 100 greatest books he read laugh out loud funny with fake titles such as 'Omelet: Olga — Mnemonic Devices for Remembering Waitress' Names" and 'Marijuana! Totally Harmless (can't remember author).' Some of the pieces may not resonate with younger audiences, including a piece titled 'The Y3K Bug' that plays off of the Y2K hysteria that led up to 2000. But the collection as a whole demonstrate a timeliness to Martin's humor that helps explains his enduring success. ___
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Book Review: 'Steve Martin Writes the Written Word' shows depth of comedian's talent
Whether you first knew him as one of the 'Two Wild and Crazy Guys' on Saturday Night Live or as one of the investigating podcasters on Hulu's 'Only Murders in the Building,' chances are you've seen Steve Martin's comedic talent in some form on screen. But what younger audiences may not appreciate is Martin's depth as a humor writer, with a canon of written work that stretches back just as many decades. 'Steve Martin Writes the Written Word' is an aptly-named collection and excellent introduction to the comedian's best writings, including some new material. The book showcases Martin's versatility as a writer, especially by including his debut 2000 novella 'Shopgirl." In that book, Martin uses a subdued sense of humor to describe heartbreak and loneliness his characters experience no matter their age. The book also includes previously published selections from his writing for The New Yorker's 'Shouts & Murmurs' column. It's fitting that Martin's best shorter works in this collection focus on writing and the written word, including a piece written from the perspective of words themselves. In another piece, he makes the list of 100 greatest books he read laugh out loud funny with fake titles such as 'Omelet: Olga — Mnemonic Devices for Remembering Waitress' Names" and 'Marijuana! Totally Harmless (can't remember author).' Some of the pieces may not resonate with younger audiences, including a piece titled 'The Y3K Bug' that plays off of the Y2K hysteria that led up to 2000. But the collection as a whole demonstrate a timeliness to Martin's humor that helps explains his enduring success. ___ AP book reviews: Andrew Demillo, The Associated Press
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Book Review: ‘Steve Martin Writes the Written Word' shows depth of comedian's talent
Whether you first knew him as one of the 'Two Wild and Crazy Guys' on Saturday Night Live or as one of the investigating podcasters on Hulu's 'Only Murders in the Building,' chances are you've seen Steve Martin's comedic talent in some form on screen. But what younger audiences may not appreciate is Martin's depth as a humor writer, with a canon of written work that stretches back just as many decades. 'Steve Martin Writes the Written Word' is an aptly-named collection and excellent introduction to the comedian's best writings, including some new material. The book showcases Martin's versatility as a writer, especially by including his debut 2000 novella 'Shopgirl.' In that book, Martin uses a subdued sense of humor to describe heartbreak and loneliness his characters experience no matter their age. The book also includes previously published selections from his writing for The New Yorker's 'Shouts & Murmurs' column. It's fitting that Martin's best shorter works in this collection focus on writing and the written word, including a piece written from the perspective of words themselves. In another piece, he makes the list of 100 greatest books he read laugh out loud funny with fake titles such as 'Omelet: Olga — Mnemonic Devices for Remembering Waitress' Names' and 'Marijuana! Totally Harmless (can't remember author).' Some of the pieces may not resonate with younger audiences, including a piece titled 'The Y3K Bug' that plays off of the Y2K hysteria that led up to 2000. But the collection as a whole demonstrate a timeliness to Martin's humor that helps explains his enduring success. Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. ___ AP book reviews:
Los Angeles Times
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Her ‘Only Murders' mystery may be solved, but Jane Lynch will be back for Season 5
During the filming of its third season, 'Only Murders in the Building' showrunner John Hoffman approached Jane Lynch and asked her how she felt about having her character killed off. She was elated. Since the series' 2021 debut, Lynch's Sarah 'Sazz' Pataki, the erstwhile stunt double to semiretired actor Charles Haden-Savage (Steve Martin), would pop up every season on two or three episodes. But returning as a ghost whom only Charles could see or talk to meant Sazz would be the focus of Season 4. 'And even if I'm not in the episode,' says Lynch, 'I'm being talked about.' What no one anticipated, not even Lynch, was how this exploration of Sazz and Charles' relationship would inject fresh poignancy into Hulu's crime comedy. So is this the end of Sazz? Or will the wholesome fan favorite with the perma-smile remain a fixture? 'I'm coming back in a flashback [next season],' Lynch says. 'But I'm always open to [more].' Initially you were kept in the dark about who shot Sazz and why. Did you try to guess the murderer's identity? No. Why not? Maybe I'm not a curious person [laughs]. Or perhaps you just don't like spoilers. A friend of mine read ['Lonesome Dove'] and said when he was reading the final pages, he just burst into tears. And I was like, 'Oh, I want to read this book now.' So I bought it recently, and I started reading the foreword by Larry McMurtry. He gives away the whole emotional storyline. The book is [843 pages], and I'm going to do it, but I'm not as excited about it. Now I know how it ends. As a figment of Charles' imagination, Sazz is always in a suit and a porkpie hat. What's it like to wear the same costume for a six-month shoot? Well, I basically wore the same outfit on 'Glee' for 5 ½ years, just different colors [laughs]. Sometimes when you wear men's clothes, which is what I was wearing, it looks like you're wearing your dad's suit. You can't even tailor it enough to look good on you. But our wardrobe people were great. I thought this suit looked particularly good on me. I have a skinny little neck and it's a man's shirt, but it fit me. So I loved it. It was good to get into that costume every day. No wardrobe surprises. I'm a hard person to fit, straight up and down, so wardrobe fittings, especially when I was a little heavier, they were just horrible. I'd always say, 'Look, I'll bring my own pants.' Talk about Sazz's authoritative presence. What she has is absolutely no insecurities. She wouldn't for a moment think that when she walks through the door, she wouldn't be welcome. It wouldn't even cross her mind. And I'm Leo rising, so I kind of have that going on too. In preparation, did you do a deep dive into the lives of female stunt doubles? No [laughs]. That may be because I'm lazy. The relationship was the most important. My devotion to [Charles] is unparalleled. My raison d'etre for living is him, to take care of him, to protect him. She learned it from her father who was a big stuntperson, we find out. You make sure that your No. 1 doesn't have to do anything that'd risk their physical [well-being]. That was her obsessive, single-minded focus. What's your theory about why viewers responded to Sazz and Charles' deep friendship? I always think of 'Game of Thrones,' how the King's Hand was absolutely devoted to the king and would do anything, would lose his life, for the king. In this country, we don't have that kind of relationship. I think it was news to Charles that [Sazz] was so devoted. It made him feel weird. Then, as time went on, and [she] was still doing this 25 years after [Charles' TV procedural 'Brazzos'] was over, he became grateful, really moved by the idea that there was someone in this world who was devoted just to him, that saw him as perfect. Have stunt doubles hailed your performance? No. I'm surprised. Don't you think Sazz ennobles the profession? Probably. But the thing about these guys is that they're very quiet, in their own space. They have a very specific job to do. They're not social. The guy who was my stunt double? He had to jump off a fricking building. Is he going to sit around and spill tea with me? No. Side note: Is there even such a thing as a female stunt double who performs dangerous acts for a male actor who plays a '90s-era TV crime solver? I don't know. But Sazz is a particular woman. She's as strong as a man. She's as physically capable. She was brought up in the business. I think she was singular.
Los Angeles Times
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
The age of the sweep is over. This year's Emmys are in for a much-needed shakeup
Selena Gomez was shocked. For real — not like the astonishment Zoë Kravitz feigned in a Golden Globes-set episode of 'The Studio,' faking disbelief at the podium when she knew all along that she was going to win. When 'Only Murders in the Building' won the Screen Actors Guild award for comedy series ensemble in February, Gomez could say only one word: 'Whaaaat???' Martin Short and Steve Martin, the show's other headliners, weren't in the room ('They don't really care,' Gomez joked), leaving their co-star to handle the acceptance speech all by her lonesome. 'Wait ... we never win,' she began. 'This is so weird.' If a series winning its first major award for its fourth season is weird (and it is), get ready for some strange days ahead this Emmy season. It's a year devoid of clear front-runners in the comedy and drama categories (aside from Jean Smart, who's on a Julia Louis-Dreyfus-style run for 'Hacks'), a year full of stacked lineups, a year that might afford the opportunity for another jaw-dropping 'whaaaat???' or two. Which, after a long run of ceremonies in which a handful of shows dominated the evening ('Baby Reindeer,' 'Shōgun,' 'Succession' — it's a long list), might be ... fun? Or at least not as much of a fait accompli as we've seen in the recent past. True, we did have one surprise last year, with 'Hacks' winning comedy series over 'The Bear,' the show most people (hand raised) thought would win. In hindsight, the result should have been clear as day. 'The Bear' was brought down by the 'How is this series a comedy?' chatter and its uneven third season, which dropped while voters were considering the merit of its second, which contained two episodes ('Fishes' and 'Forks') that are as good as anything airing on television this decade. Now it feels like no one is taking 'The Bear' seriously, even though it won three of the four comedy acting prizes and the Emmy for directing last year. ('Fishes' was undeniable.) Wouldn't it be funny if the fourth season of 'The Bear,' which drops June 25, is so good that it erases voters' misgivings about Season 3 and catapults the show back into people's hearts? ('Whaaaat???') 'The Bear' will at the very least stand out in a field heavy on comedies about Hollywood, a perennial favorite subject among creatives. 'Hacks' has Smart's Deborah Vance finally hosting her late-night talk show and battling Ava (Hannah Einbinder) over its tone, among many, many other conflicts. Newcomer 'The Studio' sends up the empty-headed self-importance of Hollywood, while making a pretty good case for the value of entertainment, even in its lowest form ('Duhpocalypse!'). And the gang from 'Only Murders in the Building' headed west to take a meeting about a movie based on their hit podcast. We should all be so lucky to have Eugene Levy play us someday. With all that — plus the City of Angels settings of comedies 'Nobody Wants This' and 'Shrinking' — how does 'Abbott Elementary' feel like anything but a blast of fresh air, even if they do put on a school play in the season finale? There's also Michael Schur's sweet and poignant charmer, 'A Man on the Inside,' in which Ted Danson goes undercover in a San Francisco retirement home and conquers loneliness, a heroic feat rivaling anything you'd find in a Marvel movie. Meanwhile in drama series, 'Shōgun' won last year, parachuting into the category from limited series when FX gave it the go-ahead for another season or two. If 'Shōgun' hadn't moved, would we be talking about the chances of a 'Slow Horses' repeat? Or how crazy it was that 'The Crown' won again? Thanks to delays caused by the strikes, the 2024 drama slate was the thinnest since 'Quincy, M.E.' roamed L.A.'s streets, keeping us safe. This year, the drama categories are back to full strength with new seasons of 'Severance,' 'The White Lotus' and 'The Last of Us' arriving and former winner 'Squid Game' returning as well. The last failed to recapture the mojo of its first season, as the repetition of its stylized carnage turned the series into a victim of the capitalism it bluntly critiqued. Count it out. In its place, we have 'The Pitt,' another series about people pushed to the breaking point, offering a vivid, harrowing depiction of an emergency medical system in crisis. Doctors are a difficult group to please (see that episode of 'The Studio' that manages to make them even more insufferable than movie executives), but by and large they have endorsed 'The Pitt' for its realism and for the way it captures medical workers' frustrations with our healthcare system. The despair portrayed on this show feels painfully true. I loved 'The Pitt' so much that I'm tempted to say that it should win all the Emmys. But that would shortchange 'Severance,' which takes another run at a corporate world run amok, detailing it in ways that are far more unsettling than anything in the latest season of 'Squid Game.' I don't know if it terrified my 'innie' or 'outie' more, probably because nowadays, who can tell the difference? Just blend me up one of those special 'White Lotus' piña coladas and let me float downstream. There's once again much to appreciate, and that's before including another thrilling season of 'Slow Horses' and newcomer 'Paradise,' a loopy thriller that wonders if it'd be worth surviving an apocalypse if we'd have to bunker down with Elon Musk. Personally, I'd rather be waylaid in the waiting room of 'The Pitt.'
